Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-04-13

goods upon the roustabouts at piers ~
! and % in New York and the Dock street
station at Philadelphia, as nearly all
of our western bound freight was put in
cars at either one or the other OF these
three places. We employed detectives and
all imaginable devices and found finally
that our employees were above suspicion.
our road east of Pittsburg, it then became
my duty to follow the robbers up to this
city. After most exhaustive search Of
the entire division of the Pennsylvania
road up to Pittsburg, came to the con.
clusion that the robberies were committed
west OF Pittsburg. We then devoted our
selves entirely to the western division.
AFTER TWO MONTHS WORK
we found that the robberies were commit
ted between Pittsburg and Denison; that
out of eighty crews seventy five were rrac-
ticing a gigantic scheme of robbery. We
were badly stalled at first by the fact that
8 ais on cars were generally found intact.
When cars reached Columbus, on their
way westward, then commenced the system
OF espionage. On every mile OF siding be-
tween here and Denison, day and night,
a watch continued. Meanwhile marked
and decoy goods we're used. We
found that local freight was generally un.
touched; that the robberies were commit
ted on the Union line shipment. Well and
good. One dark night one of our brightest
men stumbled against the mystery OF the
seals and the method by which they were
successfully tampered with. Concealed be-
hind car he saw a crew come to a Union
line car, The wire was pulled out Of the
seal, the door was thrown back and the
car entered. In q short time the men
emerged carrying
LOT OF PLUMBER.
They made off to the caboose and the con-
ductor pulled back the door, ran the wire
through the seal where it had been pulled
out and with board struck blow. The
wire went back to it's place. The blow
united the soft lead again withou, ,oy-
ing the lettering on either side and the seal
was apparently untouched. l saw one OF
these, and it was only by the closest scru-
tiny that a person could detect signs of
tampering with it. All this made clear,
our course was much easier. The individ
uals OF these crews were then each OF them
tracked down and may say here that so
closely were
THE STOLEN GOODS
located that of the arrests we made
last night and this morning. there was not
one man but had stolen stuff either on
him, or in his room. OF course you under
stand that our methods used in ascertain
ing all this cannot be made public, suffice
it to say that we have our hands on every
thievish employe and were in easy reach OF
those who are not arrested. When l say
we, mean of course Mr.. Gilkenson first, as
to him belongs exclusively the credit OF the
ric haul that
FILLED THE DRAG NET.
I can give few illustrations OF the spirit
of these employees. In one case, just tely,
the pursuit was so hot that twenty-five
boxes Of fine cigars were hastily burned in
a caboose stove. In another case q "tip"
resulted in two bolts of fine silk being
thrown from the caboose into the river,
while crossing the Panhandle bridge. In
another instance the crew broke open a
car and found it full of organs. One of the
men, enraged at finding nothing of steal
able kind, thrust an iron bar into an organ
AND RUINED IT.
We have evidence that a freight conductor
broke into car, opened piano and sat
and played it all night, stopping at mid
night to eat supper off it's polished top.
The same fellow was humping piano in
a dive last night when captured. Another
brakeman who lives on Wiley Avenue stole
a bolt OF cloth. had a suit made for himself
and gave the cloth for two other suits to
two of his friends. Another man has be-
come an expert on a stolen accordeon and
in all my experience of twenty-nine years,
I never saw such taste for miscellaneous
Everything
EXCEPT COFFIN
and blacksmith's anvil has been stolen
and made use of. Some of onr detectives
assured me this morning that not a man
wus arrested but had from half q dozen to
a dozen pairs OF clean socks of the finest
qualities and large assortment OF shirts
of all kinds.